Just Like Losing
by Ceray
Summary: If there's anything that Chase doesn't like, it's losing. So, naturally, one loss, especially one to that silly farmer was going to shake up his life a little... He just didn't think it'd shake it up that much.
1. Chapter One: Fluke

_Wow. I've never really written a Harvest Moon fic before (well, there was one for a quality check, but that was for Magical Melody). I really love the series, so I don't know why... Maybe the fear of getting characters OOC? Anyway, I got the idea for this from what Chase says at six or so hearts... Hopefully he's in character and hopefully, other people enjoy this. ; A; Also, I'm sorry this chapter is so short, I really couldn't think of anything to make it longer..._

_Disclaimer: Ceray does not own Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquilty characters or concepts. _

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The aroma floating about the house was just heavenly. Anyone who might have entered the house at that given moment might have thought they died and went to food heaven. Chase couldn't blame them for thinking that either; he knew that the smell floating about his house was too amazing for words.

And Chase also knew that it got so much better than that.

The little timer on the oven rang, signaling that his creation was ready to pull from the oven. When he opened the oven door he felt like he had been knocked down by some amazing force of wind. Well, that's just what his cooking was: amazing.

He breathed in deeply. Chase smelled a first place dish. The young chef grinned to himself. It was just so irresistible, if it weren't for the fact that this dish was for a cooking competition, then Chase would have gobbled the thing down whole. He checked the clock. If he wanted to win the aforementioned competition, then he had to leave.

Chase quickly pulled the fish out of the oven as carefully as he could before wrapping it up so that it could stay hot. He inserted the ceramic casserole dish into a basket before exiting his house and high tailing it towards the Brownie Ranch District.

As he made his way to his destination, only one word could describe how Chase was feeling.

Perfect.

Just Like Losing  
Chapter One: Fluke

Stunned.

That was the best and possibly only word to describe Chase when he heard Yolanda announce the winner of the Harvest Festival's cooking contest. He was stunned; stunned that he had not won. Of course, he was still young and had so much to learn about cooking still, and maybe his herb fish was not as perfect as he thought it was, but…

How in the world did he lose to that farmer?

Naturally, it would have been a thousand times worse if he had lost to Maya, Waffle Town's worst cook; however, he still couldn't fathom how he had lost to the farmer girl. Sure, he didn't know her well since he had only been back to Waffle Town for less than a full season, but she hadn't been in Waffle Town for a full year, and, as much as he was aware, she hadn't full set up her farm yet. So, how could someone like that have the time to manage a farm and cook an award-winning dish?

Chase had no clue.

He went to claim his second place (inwardly grimacing) from Hamilton, before appealing to Yolanda, hoping to get some sort of explanation.

"Yes, Chase?" Yolanda asked, cleaning up as she spoke.

"How did that farmer girl win?" Chase was rather blunt, and a bit rude, but that was how he was, especially since he was agitated.

His mentor paused for a moment, thinking. Chase briefly wondered if she, too, was wondering how in the world a person like that could out-cook someone who was completely devoted to it. Finally, after a few moments, Yolanda spoke, her words slow. "I could taste everything she put into it."

"There aren't _that_ many ingredients in herb bread. It's a pretty simple dish," Chase found himself almost sneering. "Could you taste everything in mine?"

Yolanda gave him an odd look, and shook her head, muttering something that Chase couldn't hear… "Yes, but she put love into her cooking."

Chase twitched. Love? Was Yolanda being serious? "I put my entire heart into my dish, just like I do with all my dishes!"

Yolanda let out a sigh. "Chase, there is no doubt in my mind that you put your heart and soul into everything you cook. I know you do because you love the art so much."

"Then why?" he exclaimed.

The elderly woman was silent for a moment, until she finally spoke. "Chase, for someone so young you've accomplished so much as a chef, but there are still things you need to learn, and this, I'm afraid, is one of them."

With that, the woman walked away from, leaving Chase angrier and more confused than he had been when he had started talking to her. Talking to Yolanda achieved nothing, so maybe…

He quickly turned his head to see all the other attendees from the festival leaving the Brownie Ranch District, the farmer girl being among them. Maybe she had his answers. He started racing down the meadow following after her, nearly knocking Maya and Phoebe over as he went. Chase didn't have to run so fast, he was sure that she was heading home and since the two lived on such a small island, he knew where her home was too… But the sooner he got to her, the sooner he would get his answers.

As he ran, dozens of possibilities raced through his head. Maybe one or both of her parents were chefs and she got her skills from them. Maybe she had been a chef before becoming a farmer… Maybe she was an alien or something and cooking skills had been just installed in her brain. No, that last one was silly.

Finally, Chase caught up to the farmer at the fork between the Maple Lake District and the Praline Woods. "Hey!"

She turned and looked at him, her light brown eyes appearing somewhat confused. "Yeah?"

"How the hell did you win?"

She blinked, totally disregarding the obvious hostility that was in Chase's question. "Um, well… I made this herb-"

"No! I know what you did, but…" Chase reached up and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't get how you beat me. I'm the best cook, besides Yolanda, in this town. Were you some sort of renowned chef before becoming a farmer or something?"

The girl gave him a slightly skeptical look due to what Chase assumed was his declaration of being the second best, but she shook her head, "Nope."

"Were your parents chefs?"

She shook her head again. "Nope. Dad was a farmer, Mom kind of was too."

Chase grimaced. What other options were there? "Was it some secret family recipe? Was there a secret ingredient?"

The farmer girl thought for a moment before she responded. "No. I saw the recipe in a cookbook at the library in Town Hall when I first moved here… I don't think there was anything extra added. It was just ordinary herb bread."

The light haired cook scowled. If it really was so ordinary then how did it beat him? He used the best ingredients to make his herb fish, he cooked it to perfection. If he remembered right, the girl's herb bread was a little lopsided when she entered it, so how in the world did it beat his perfect herb fish? "Are you some sort of… freakish cooking robot that farms on the side?"

The brown haired young woman stared at Chase blankly before she let out a few laughs. Of course, Chase didn't really see what was so funny about it, but didn't say anything out of annoyance. Once she calmed down, she spoke, "No. I'm pretty sure I'm just a plain old farmer."

Chase frowned. He really didn't like that answer. If she were anything than just a "plain old farmer" then he would've been less annoyed about losing to her… Maybe.

"…You really must have wanted to win, huh?" the girl said. Chase snorted. Of course he wanted to win. He wanted to prove just how good of a cook he was, despite his own personal circumstances. He didn't say it though. He didn't say anything to this girl, nor did he plan to. He was about to walk away when he heard her rummaging around in her rucksack. Chase looked as she pulled out a large brown bag and offered it to him.

"What is it?"

"The prize for winning first place."

Chase grimaced. He didn't want the prize. He knew what it was. It was ten extra-large sized bodigizer drinks. He didn't need any of those. It was better suited for someone who did a lot of physical work all the time. It was better for the farmer girl; she looked like she didn't have very much physical strength at all. Besides, it was her prize, not his. "I don't want it, Amari."

She shrugged a bit, and placed the bag back in her rucksack. Chase was about to walk away again, but she spoke, effectively stopping him. "Akari!"

"What?"

"My name is Akari!" she repeated. Chase shrugged. He didn't really care. What difference did her name make to him? All he knew was that she beat him doing what he did best at without really even trying. Now that all the plausible reasons were pretty much thrown out the door, Chase couldn't deny that her victory must have been because of some of fluke. There was no way she could have won with something as plain as herb bread, especially when he had been training for so long to be the very best cook. But, fluke or no fluke there was one thing that was very clear to Chase. If there was anything he didn't like, it was losing.


	2. Chapter Two: Difference

_orz. Chapter would have been up sooner but, I was having issues... Not writer's block... just... issues. Like, I rewrote it once because Chase was too mean (he's still kinda mean here, but that's manly pride), then I redid some parts because Akari was too confrontational for my liking, and then a third time because I felt it was too long. I still think this chapter's kind of long. Normally, length is good, but... I hope I managed to keep Chase in character and Akari's character consistent. Though I'm not as happy as I'd like to be with this chapter. Next one is better, I promise._

_As you can see characterization is my biggest concern. This is kind of unrelated, but I just passed my second Harvest Festival and Chase beat me... with the same dish I made- Shining Fish Meuniere. I was pissed. Darn Chase. I also found the recipe for herb bread in his kitchen, lol. And, I've only attempted making bread once. And I failed. So my description may suck. Anyway, I'm getting off track._

_Disclaimer: Ceray doesn't own Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility characters or concepts. She also thanks those who reviewed and story-alerted (olo, FFN is so weird compared Luna) and hopes they enjoy this chapter._

_EDIT: Chapter was edited a bit. FFN is very evil when you want to tweak a few things._

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Just Like Losing

Chapter Two: Difference

Akari stretched out on her bed. Between having to do farm chores and attending the Harvest Festival, she was insanely tired. But, despite that exhausted feeling, Akari was very happy. It was surprising to her that such a small community could host such fun and exciting festivals. She hadn't really thought it possible, having come from a small place herself, but it was a good surprise. Akari had eaten a lot of good food, played some fun games, and she even was able to get-

The young farmer's thoughts were interrupted by a faint mooing coming from the barn. She turned her head in that direction. Very seldom did the creature moo. Usually, in Akari's experience, cows mooed very often; or at least the cows on her father's farm did, but the cow she had mooed only when it wanted food, was being brushed, or milked. Perhaps the cow was taking an exit from routine and just mooing for the sake of the action.

Or maybe some creep was milking her cow in the barn. But Akari doubted that. While her cow did produce good quality milk if someone was in the mood for milk stealing they were probably better off going to Brownie Ranch.

So maybe her cow was in need of more fodder. Akari shook her head. Her few animals had been left out to graze while she was at the Harvest Festival so the cow had ample time to be feed. Or maybe it was just being an evil little cow and wanted Akari to hand feed it like she did on stormy days.

If the creature desired to be fed again then most likely it would let out another loud and whiny moo… Akari listened carefully, but no such moo hit her ears. Perhaps the cow had merely mooed for the sake of it. Perhaps the cow was becoming a normal cow that moos whenever it feels the need to.

Yeah, that was a good enough answer.

Since the incident with her cow had been solved, Akari moved to turn on the television. Her only real complaint about Waffle Town was the lack of good television. One channel really killed the variety. Akari found the only show that she even bothered to watch was Maya's cooking show that was on during the weekdays. And even then, Akari always found herself wondering how _Maya_ of all people managed to land that show. Perhaps it was her cute face and happy attitude, or maybe it was because anyone who could cook had better things to do that host the show.

Currently onscreen was Elli who was talking about the weather for the next day. It would be sunny, which was a good way to end the season. After hearing the actual weather, Akari started tuning out the television, her mind focusing on the next day. All the crops she had planted were almost ripe so Akari figured she'd leave them there until the first day of winter. It would be more profitable that way, and besides, it meant a little less work for her that day. Maybe she could take a small nap after attending to her animals since Akari knew she'd be tired tomorrow…

Speaking of which, she probably should leave to do that little errand before it got too late…

The young farmer's daydreaming was interrupted by a quick rapping on her door. Akari stared at the door with a somewhat confused look. She rarely had any visitors, and when someone _did_ actually decide to grace her home with their presence it was usually earlier on in the day. Besides, who would visit at this hour?

Maybe she was just hearing things. Akari turned back to the television screen when she heard another knock, this one was louder. Whoever was at her door didn't seem to have much patience.

The brunette let out a sigh. The only way for her to find out who was visiting her at this hour was to answer the door. Somewhat unwillingly, Akari got off her bed and approached the door. Her visitor knocked once more, this knock sounding slightly more annoyed than the last.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she grumbled as she flung open the door.

For the briefest second, Akari caught an eyeful of the annoyed expression upon her visitor's face. But it instantly changed into one of cheer. She had to admit it was pretty convincing, so much so that she started to think that he had been wearing that look the entire time.

"Um… Hi."

"Hey Amari."

Akari twitched. Nope. That visage of annoyance that had been on Chase's face was probably not a hallucination. "It's Akari."

"Oh. Maybe you should get out more so people learn your name."

Akari frowned slightly. He did have a point, but she didn't really want to admit that. "Why are you here?"

"Just dropping by to say hi."

Akari stared down at the canvas bag that Chase was holding with some skepticism. "Really?"

Chase's smile held up for a minute, but when Akari's expression didn't change it faded. "Okay. Fine. I'm here because I wanted to prove that I'm the better cook."

Was he serious? Akari gave the young man a deadpan stare. "Of course you are. I'm just your average farmer."

The statement elicited a humorless laugh from Chase. "Then how did some 'average farmer' beat me?"

Akari shrugged. "I don't know. But, I think you're taking this a little too seriously. I mean, it's just a small town cooking competition. After all, the first place prize was just ten extra large bodigizers. And there's always next year you know?"

Chase's eyes flashed dangerously, and Akari gulped. Perhaps that wasn't the best thing to say to him. But something in her wasn't entirely surprised. She had recalled how confident Chase had been about winning the contest when she overheard him talking to someone (Craig or Maya perhaps?) at the festival. Not only that, but Chase was always cooking whenever she worked part time at the Sundae Bar and he was always proud of his creations, though Akari had never personally tried them.

"Please just let me in," Chase said after a minute. "It's kind of cold out here, if you haven't noticed."

"Oh, right," Akari moved to the side, making way for Chase to enter.

Akari's house was a simple one with only two doors. Chase assumed the other door was the bathroom/shower area; but the thought of the poor girl having to use an outhouse amused him just slightly. The rest of the house was one room, the bedroom, kitchen and dining room all in the same area. It was also barely decorated, with only the essential pieces of furniture out. Chase remembered that, despite being in Waffle Town for nearly a year, Akari was still struggling with farm duties. Decorating her house was probably the last thing on her mind.

"Your house is small," Chase stated flatly.

"I'm saving up for an extension," Akari retorted.

House extensions weren't insanely expensive like in other places. Akari was kind of small, so her problem was probably that she had not gathered enough materials for the extension. But that was just a nicer way of saying that she was weak… or something like that. Chase really didn't care enough to dwell on that thought. He walked over to the kitchen area and remarked. "Your kitchen's small."

"Are you surprised?"

Chase contemplated for a moment before he turned to Akari, chuckling a bit. "Not really."

Akari let out a sigh. Maybe it would have better to not answer the door. She didn't mind having Chase appear at her door to prove his culinary superiority (not _that_ much anyway), but she would have appreciated it if he didn't insult her left and right.

"Wouldn't it have been better if you cooked at your house then?"

"It would've been too late by the time I was done." This made Akari feel a little better. Maybe he wasn't being entirely nice, but at least Chase was being a little considerate. "Besides, I want to duplicate your recipe as much as I can."

Akari opened her mouth to tell him that it was just simple herb bread, but then remembered that the recipe hadn't specified on an herb. So, instead she said, "Don't you need to compare your herb bread to mine?"

"Oh yeah. I came here so you could make it at your house."

Akari blinked. Was that more considerate behavior on Chase's part? "Um…"

"Besides, I don't have enough ingredients for you and me to share. I have to go shopping tomorrow…"

Akari gave a forced smile. Maybe she should just stop trying to find good points in this guy. If there were any, surely they would make themselves known sooner or later. "…I used the last of my stuff on the batch I made today."

Chase's brow furrowed. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"And breadfruit is out of season."

"I know." Chase twitched. Of course he knew that. He also knew that breadfruit wouldn't be in season until after winter. Would he seriously have to wait that long to prove his stuff? No, of course not. She could just buy breadfruit at the store, but then again, this was a farm.

"Did you buy any of your ingredients?"

"Nope, all of it was produced here."

Chase frowned. That meant he would have to wait until spring. "You have to be freaking kidding me."

"You're really serious about this aren't you?"

Chase rolled his eyes. "It's my job."

Akari looked at Chase for a good long second. His seriousness had an air of familiarity about it. It took her a minute to realize where she had seen it before. It reminded her of her father. The young farmer smiled a bit at the thought of her father. She really did miss him, but… "I actually have leftovers from the batch I made for the competition."

Chase's eyes lit up a bit. That meant he wouldn't have to wait! He almost smiled, but then realized Akari had known all along that she had some leftover bread and glared instead. "You could have said that in the first place, you know."

Akari merely stuck her tongue out. The action didn't faze Chase in the least. It merely reminded him of Maya, who often did that when she wasn't crying after hearing him critique her awful cooking. Being reminded of the lost cause known as Maya made Chase to roll his eyes and shake his head.

Akari's expression changed to a somewhat disinterested one. "Well, if you're going to bake bread, shouldn't you get started?"

Chase glanced at the clock. It was getting late and bread took at least thirty minutes to bake, plus he had to wait for it too cool. "How long did your bread rise?"

"Thirty minutes. Just like in the recipe."

Chase smiled. His timing was perfect. "And what kind of herb did you use?"

"Green."

Chase's nose wrinkled. "Green?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I wouldn't use such a common herb…" Of course, Chase did grow green herbs at his house too, but it was just so he had every kind.

"Well, since I find them all over the place, I decided to just keep the green ones I grew on my farm for cooking and stuff…"

Chase's disapproving expression didn't change, but he couldn't argue with that logic. He reached into his canvas bag and pulled out a plastic container containing some beige dough with a sticky note on the cover that had "Green" written messily on the cover.

"Did you honestly make five different types of herb bread dough?" Akari's voice sounded stunned. Chase felt a little satisfied by this fact.

"I like to be prepared."

Akari agreed with the notion of being prepared, but making five different possibilities to match her bread seemed a bit… extreme.

"Besides, if I made the dough at my house, then I wouldn't have to wait as long here waiting for it to rise."

The brown-eyed farmer wondered idly if he was saying that because he didn't want to inconvenience her by being at her house too long or if he just didn't want to be there period.

Chase placed the dough into a loaf pan he had brought with him and inserted it into the oven. Then, he sat down at the table opposite Akari, who watched him do so with mild interest. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to make conversation with her. It would be rude, and not to mention awkward, to just sit there quietly. But he just didn't like Akari at all. But then again, he didn't know her, making his disdain almost completely groundless.

"So, um… have you cooked for a long time?" Akari asked, distracting him from his thoughts. Chase couldn't help but snort. Obviously, it probably came out sounding mean or something like that, but her attempt at conversation was so lame.

"Since I was little," he replied shortly. "You always want to be a farmer?"

Chase noted the odd look in her eyes. He then remembered how she had mentioned her parents being farmers. If they were farmers, it was likely that they had, if she was an only child, wanted her to take over the farm. But, obviously she didn't. If that was the case, it was probably a hard subject to talk about.

And parents weren't an easy topic for Chase to speak of either.

"No. Not really."

"Hm."

But Akari did end up being a farmer. The question of why she didn't go back to her parents' farm where it would have been easier to ease into the occupation hovered in Chase's mind for a mere moment before he let it pass. Whatever reasons Akari had for doing what she did weren't any of Chase's business, nor did he desire it to be.

From the awkward air hanging between Akari and Chase, it was obvious that the conversation was over. Luckily, she had a TV among her meager house decorations, which both Akari and Chase opted to watch instead of pursing any further conversation. Though the two of them stared at the screen and listened to the sounds coming from the electronic box, their thoughts were obviously elsewhere.

Eventually, the little oven timer rang, signaling that thirty minutes in the oven was done. Of course, the aroma of the baking bread had spread out throughout Akari's home long before the time to pull the baked good from the oven. Chase was proud at the fact that every now and then he had caught Akari drooling out of the corner of his eye. Both Chase and Akari rose, and the former asked the latter. "What are you doing?"

"Getting my bread."

"Oh."

As Chase moved to put on oven mitts so he could extract the bread from the oven. Akari went and reached into one of the cabinets under the counter and pulled out a small loaf which was covered with some plastic wrapping. By this time, the other person in the kitchen had popped the bread from the oven and out of the pan so it could cool on the counter since Akari didn't own a cooling rack.

Chase figured it would be at least ten minutes before the bread was tongue safe. He didn't really want to wait any longer to taste the difference and to prove that he was better, but… He had to. He preferred to avoid any damage to his tongue so that whenever he needed to, the taste buds on it could give him accurate judgment on what tasted good and what tasted bad.

….of course, he seldom needed taste to determine if Maya's dishes were bad. Just looking at them was enough.

But then again, he wasn't dealing with Maya. He was dealing with the farmer girl, and obviously, the two were at different levels when it came to cooking.

Soon enough, ten minutes passed and Chase poked his bread. It was cool enough to eat. He reached into his bag and pulled out a knife and cut two pieces from each loaf. He gave a piece from each loaf to Akari. Then, as dramatic as trying a piece of bread can get, he took a bite from the loaf he had baked. It was still warm, but baked to perfection. The bread had a soft texture, and he could taste the added accents from the green herb… Although it was plain herb bread, it still tasted heavenly to Chase.

He closed his eyes to savor the taste even more. Once he opened them, he saw Akari regarding him with an odd look. Chase shrugged. She probably couldn't tell the difference between a green herb bread and a blue herb bread. He finished his piece of bread before picking up Akari's. Naturally, it wouldn't be as warm as his, but warmth, didn't really do much to the taste, it only upped the pleasure received from consumption.

Chase took a deep breath before biting into Akari's bread. It, too, was soft, and tasted similar to his… But there was something else there. It was an odd taste that Chase couldn't find the words for. But he was certain that it wasn't a bad taste it was… good…

And Chase found he was enjoying it.

He was enjoying it more than his own bread.

But how was that possible when they were the same? Chase was sure they were the same. The taste he had in his mouth wasn't something that was obtained by adding an too much of one ingredient, or letting the dough rise a little longer than the time it should have. It was…

Chase stopped chewing and swallowed hard. He looked in his hand… All of the bread was gone before he had known it. Had he enjoyed it so much that he had just consumed it all without being actually conscious of it? Did the same thing happen to Yolanda? His eyes widened. That couldn't be…

"Chase?"

That thing he couldn't describe… Could it honestly be love? He shook his head. Love for what? It wasn't that his bread was half-assed… He had put his heart into it, just like he had put his heart into his herb fish and everything else he had ever cooked. But then what was it that he was tasting?

"Are you okay?"

No. No. No. He wasn't okay. He wasn't. Chase didn't know what he was, either. It was just like he didn't know that extra taste that made your bread better than his. But he did know one thing. He had to go. He had to. Chase mumbled quietly, "Thank you."

"Um…"

He grabbed his stuff and quickly strode out of the house without another word, leaving Akari confused. For a few moments, she stared at the front door, wondering what had happened. Then she realized: it had something to do with the bread. Slowly, she took a bite of each piece, chewing slowly so she could try to distinguish the difference between them. When she was done, she said to no one in particular.

"I don't taste any difference."


	3. Chapter Three: Rainbow

_Phew. Glad I managed to finish chapter four before I left for my stupid family vacation (yes, this is three, but it's my policy to finish the next chapter before the one before it is posted if that makes sense). With that being said, there _probably_ won't be an update until my return, but you never know. Ugh. I don't want to go. Anywho. Again, I'm very sorry about the inconsistency in Chase's character (he needs more lines, darnit). I think this one's more accurate than last chapter. Also, I apologize for grammar mistakes and the like. I hate proofreading, and I don't like bothering others with it. btw, I've learned that now I must be 100% happy with a chapter before upping it. I apologize for the people who had this on alert and it sent them two emails because I tweaked last chapter._

_Disclaimer: Ceray does not own Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility characters or concepts. _

* * *

Just Like Losing

Chapter Three: Rainbow

After the disaster at the Harvest Festival, Chase had made the mistake of assembling the ingredients to make herb bread, making five different versions of the dough, running to Akari's house to bake it and then tasted the two different loaves only to find how Akari's was, somehow, superior. He should have known better. Cooking shouldn't be about making the better product, cooking should be about making a product that the consumer would enjoy. Chase, in his anger over losing, had forgotten that, and, went in making that bread with the worst of intentions...

Well, it wasn't like he was aiming to murder or anything, but still.

Chase was still sure he had put his heart into making that bread... But his heart just wasn't in the right place. Not only that, he had been a bit ruder to Akari than he should have been. Sure, she wasn't the politest of hosts either, but that was probably in response to his behavior.

And the way he had left was just plain rude. Naturally, it would have been worse if Chase had just left without a word, but that was no excuse.

Then Chase came to wonder.

Why the heck was he worrying over that stuff? He hadn't ever really cared that much before so...

It was probably because it went against he was taught. He was always told to be polite to people, which Chase managed to do, even if the person he was speaking to was some horrible, annoying person. But this time the anger had just taken over.

Why?

He wasn't so sure. Maybe it was because it was a cooking competition. Maybe it was because the farmer girl beat him without even trying. Yeah, that was probably it. Looking back, she had been right. It was just a small town cooking competition. It wasn't like there was anything major on the line and no one would have thought less of him if he had lost. There wasn't anything that Chase actually had a viable reason to be angry over. So why had he just lost control of his emotions the way he did?

Chase stared at his ceiling. The answer was simple. Manly pride. All Chase could really do was cook and being beat by someone who didn't seem to cook regularly was a huge blow to that pride. And Akari? She probably deserved an apology, or something. Of course, he wasn't planning on offering something to her in order to get on her good side since it wasn't like he had killed her cow or anything, a simple apology would suffice. Yes, it would. The girl didn't seem like the type to hold a grudge either, so he wouldn't have to worry about her coming after his life or anything.

With that thought in mind, Chase resolved to apologize to Akari in the morning. It wouldn't be some large dramatic production or anything, just a simple sorry for being such a sore loser. Then she would forgive him and all would be well. He'd simply just work harder to become the best cook he could possibly be and win next year's contest.

The peach haired young man let out a somewhat content sigh and squirmed so that he was on his side, facing the other wall. Now that that was all squared away (or at least as squared away as Chase could possibly make the situation on his on), he could finally get some shut eye without having any other thoughts interrupt him.

"Yay! You brought everything!"

Or so he thought.

The digital clock on the table beside his bed read that it was a little past one in the morning. Ordinarily, he'd still be up at this point, on his way home from work, but since today (or perhaps, more accurately, yesterday) was a festival day, he didn't have to work. And no work meant that Chase could go to bed early. Though to Chase "early" was at least around midnight or so. He'd always be up til then thinking to himself. He closed his eyes again and hoped that perhaps he was just hearing things. Or maybe he was already asleep and this was part of a dream.

Yes, he would go with that.

"Sorry, I took so long," a second voice sounded, slightly quieter than the first, but still audible.

"It's okay~!"

Chase twitched. It sounded like this conversation wasn't going to end any time soon. He grumbled as he rolled out of bed. He'd give these jerks, whoever they were, a piece of his mind, that much was certain.

Not even bothering to put any shoes on or anything, he stomped out of his house to yell at whoever was wandering around at one in the morning. Whoever it was was over by Ben's Tree which was closer to Toby's house than his own. He scowled a bit. These people weren't even bothering to be quiet and luckily for them, Toby could sleep through anything, though, Chase wasn't sure if Toby was even capable of getting mad, but it didn't matter.

"…They were being sold at the Harvest Festival. How lucky, right…?" the second voice sounded again. Chase quickly strode closer the source of the noise. The voice was strangely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. He decided to; instead, examine what they had said… Whoever it was had to have been at the Harvest Festival…

Suddenly, it clicked. It was Akari!

Chase ducked behind a bunch of bushes that were next to Toby's house and peered behind them. He didn't see anyone else but the farmer, so where was the other person she was talking to? …Maybe he was right and she was some sort of alien contacting the mothership! Chase shook his head. Aliens didn't exist, and if there was an alien, he thought that maybe Luke was more likely to be it than Akari…

But still, who was she talking to?

Chase tried to get closer while remaining in hiding; however, he accidentally bumped into a cooler next to Toby's house knocking it over causing a loud noise. Thank the Goddess that Toby could sleep through anything.

…But that didn't mean that Akari didn't hear him.

She turned around and looked at the cooler that Chase had knocked over while Chase ducked behind the bushes.

"Who's there?"

Chase didn't answer, hoping that she would just ignore it. After a moment, Akari turned back toward the tree. Chase breathed a sigh of relief until he heard the other voice.

"Maybe you should still check it out… I-it might be a ghost!"

"Well, we are near the cemetery…" she paused. "Are you afraid?"

"…Well, kinda! W-what if it's a mean ghost that doesn't want the Harvest Goddess to come back?"

Chase was dumbfounded. Where was that voice coming from? Was it the tree? Was he dreaming? Yes, he had to be dreaming, there was no way that trees could talk… but the Harvest Goddess? He remembered that silly old story, but that was just some stupid folktale that some of the villagers (mostly the mayor, his son, and the few children inhabitants) believed in, just like the thought that the rainbows were special. To Chase, it was just a load of bull. The island's recession wasn't because of the disappearance of some rainbows, and anyone who wanted to say so was obviously trying to blame it on something other than themselves.

"Would it make you feel better if I went to look?"

"Y-yes," the tree sniffled. Akari let out a soft sigh and turned around, heading towards where Chase was. He cursed under his breath and tried to crawl away before she got to him… But, unfortunately, he was unable to.

"Chase? What are you doing out here at this hour?"

"Just sleeping," Chase responded coolly. There was no way that she'd fall for that one, but it didn't hurt to try.

"Outside of Toby's house?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"Your house is just over there."

"And?"

"Are you… stalking Toby?"

"Don't be stupid." Chase rolled his eyes before glaring at the farmer, who snickered in response. "And what about you? What are you doing out here?"

"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you."

"Oh? Try me?" Since it was a dream, there was no harm in being seen anyway, right? Akari stared at Chase for a good long moment before she let out another sigh and motioned for Chase to follow her to the tree. When the two were both in front of it, the tree's voice spoke.

"Oh, who's this?"

"This is Chase. He lives nearby."

Chase looked at the plant skeptically. He lived in the same area of the tree, it should know his name. But then again, it was a tree, and this was a dream. "Hi there… Tree."

"I'm not a tree!" the voice protested. "I'm Ben!"

"If you aren't a tree then what are you?" Chase couldn't believe that, even in this silly dream, he was talking at what seemed like nothing.

"Harvest Sprite!"

"Uh…" Harvest Sprites were part of that local folktale too. Besides the tree was known as _Ben's _Tree, no one really knew who or what Ben was, so it could have been that he was assumed to be a Harvest Sprite... If they really did exist.

"I don't think he can see you," Akari interjected.

"Oh..."

"It's not like it should matter anyway. I'm probably dreaming after all," Chase stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"You're not dreaming."

"Whatever."

"Well, let's make the rainbow!" Ben's voice exclaimed. Akari reached into her rucksack and pulled out a bunch of seemingly random objects. After a moment, Chase realized that everything she pulled out was food. Was she making some sort of offering to this "Harvest Sprite?" Ben started chanting something, what exactly, Chase didn't know; he wasn't paying any attention. In fact, he didn't know why he was sticking around and was about to leave when a bright light caught his eye. Chase turned and saw a small rainbow over the patch of dirt in front of the tree. Wide eyed and slightly disturbed, he watched as the rainbow enlarged and moved so that one end was on the edge of the lake where it stretched off towards Mt. Gelato.

"Okay, so now I give you my badge…" Ben's voice continued as Chase stared blankly at the rainbow. Toby really could sleep through anything. "Wait, where is it?"

Chase turned back towards Akari who was staring down at the dirt patch in front of the tree… That must have been where the Harvest Sprite was, since she could clearly see it when he couldn't.

"I lost it! I lost it!" Ben started crying.

"Oh! Please don't cry!" Akari reached out to try to soothe the thing.

"I-it must've been when I fell in the river! ...And now… now, it's probably washed up on the Gulf Islands!"

"Well, if that's the case, I'll find it!" Akari promised, but the sprite didn't seem to listen to her as he continued bawling.

Chase saw that there was a soft glowing light around the dirt patch and heard the crying sounds slowly fade out. When the light was gone there was a blue flower in the patch of dirt that had not been there seconds earlier.

"Well, that was an interesting," Chase remarked after a moment of silence. Akari turned to him; a very serious look was on her face.

"Do you still think you're dreaming?"

"Yes."

"You're not."

"Right."

She frowned and moved closer to Chase, who instinctively backed away. "What do you want?"

Akari reached out and pinched Chase's arm. Hard. He winced, but didn't make a sound. He didn't want to cry out because of a little pinch. "What was that for, huh?"

"See. It's not a dream," Akari huffed before turning on her heel to walk away. Chase did nothing but stare at her retreating back. Once she was out of sight he looked back to the rainbow. He didn't know how long he was standing there, but eventually the sky got lighter. However, the rainbow's light didn't fade and, slowly, but surely Chase began to realize.

This wasn't a dream.


End file.
